Dani Shapiro quotes

Our pain is a part of who we authentically are. (Dani Shapiro)
I do whatever is necessary in order to maintain the equanimity we all need to withstand the disappointment and rejection that are the lot of every writer, no matter where we are in our careers. View quote
Dani Shapiro
Everything you need to know about life can be learned from a genuine and ongoing attempt to write. View quote
Dani Shapiro
If you are a writer or any kind of artist, if you change something as fundamental as where you live - the way you live - then I think you change the very instrument that is trying to make the art. View quote
Dani Shapiro
It's essential to have sacred time for writing. All successful authors have some daily commitment to keep on-track and moving forward. View quote
Dani Shapiro
My desk is covered with talismans: pieces of rose quartz, wishing stones from a favorite beach. View quote
Dani Shapiro
How do we live the writer's life? There's only one simple answer: 'we write.' View quote
Dani Shapiro
I do strongly identify with being Jewish. I was raised Orthodox and had a childhood complicated by the fact that my father was deeply religious and my mother was not. View quote
Dani Shapiro
Success is so fleeting, even if you get a good book deal or your book is a huge success, there's always the fear: What about the next one? View quote
Dani Shapiro
As writers, it is our job not only to imagine, but to witness. View quote
Dani Shapiro
My parents made the decision never to focus on my looks, and I had no sense of myself as beautiful. (Dani Shapiro)
Music inspires me and puts me in the right mood, but to actually listen to it when I write - I find it gets in the way. View quote
Dani Shapiro
I used to act in television commercials when I was a kid and a young adult. View quote
Dani Shapiro
Our minds have a tendency to wander. To duck and feint and keep us at a slight remove from the moment at hand. View quote
Dani Shapiro
I started realising that the themes running through all of my novels were really haunting and obsessing me about my own life. View quote
Dani Shapiro
We secretly believe that if only we achieve some elusive goal - fitting into a pair of skinny jeans, or redoing our kitchen or getting that promotion - that it will make us happy. But the pain of our insecurity is hidden in all that racing around. View quote
Dani Shapiro
I love living in the country, so much so that I'm even surprised by it. I have met lots of interesting people - the community was really welcoming, and I now probably have a more interesting social life than I did in the city. View quote
Dani Shapiro
My dad died when I was 23. His death was sudden and shocking - the result of a car crash - and I never got to say goodbye. View quote
Dani Shapiro
If you write memoir, it can't be about blame or hurt; it has to be creative. View quote
Dani Shapiro
Strange - I'm not much of a film person. I love watching films, but they don't stay with me the way books do. Stranger still, because my husband is a screenwriter! View quote
Dani Shapiro
Confidence is highly overrated when it comes to creating literature. A writer who is overly confident will not engage in the struggle to get it exactly right on the page - but rather, will assume that she's getting it right without the struggle. (Dani Shapiro)
Devotion, as it relates to the title of my memoir, means fidelity - as in fidelity to a person or a practice. I think it's certainly possible to feel devotion without having faith, at least in the religious sense of the word. View quote
Dani Shapiro
When I sit down with my notebook, when I start scribbling words across the page, I find out what I'm feeling. View quote
Dani Shapiro
I'm an urban person who loves living in the country. View quote
Dani Shapiro